Trove is the collective noun for props, but that refers to the items used for stage and screen. The human variety, particularly those that currently play rugby for Ireland, could be grouped under the nomenclature an “endangerment”.
Certainly, that’s the case when it comes to the loosehead variety. Andrew Porter and Paddy McCarthy are hors de combat, to employ a French phrase, with a trip to Paris looming, while Jack Boyle is nursing a shoulder injury having missed the La Rochelle game.
The tighthead stock has also been depleted; Tadhg Furlong is working his way back to fitness while Connacht’s Finlay Bealham could be sidelined for two or three weeks. Jack Aungier, who made his Irish debut in Tbilisi, is available again having not played since the first week in December.
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This weekend introduces a sharper focus for those who wear the numbers one and three jerseys for the four provincial sides in the Champions and Challenge Cup tournaments. Among that number is Munster loosehead prop Jeremy Loughman, who has form when it comes to Test rugby, his last appearance of five for Ireland, against Italy in the 2024 Six Nations Grand Slam campaign.
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He has fought a “domestic tussle” with Mikey Milne, who joined Munster from Leinster and won a first Irish cap against Georgia on the summer tour. Loughman has played 10 matches for Munster this season (six starts), Milne eight, with five in the run-on team. Ulster’s Tom O’Toole can play both sides of the frontrow.
Ireland head coach Andy Farrell will announce the squad for the Six Nations Championship next Wednesday and, on the same afternoon, another for an Ireland XV to play England at Thomond Park on Friday February 6th. There are places up for grabs, so the message this weekend is a simple “start grabbing”.
Loughman’s performance against Toulon justified his starting role, part of the collective that won a couple of scrum penalties, an aspect of Munster’s set piece that has taken flak this season.
The 30-year-old said: “The scrum was a massive step [forward]. I think it was something that at the start of the year probably wasn’t going too well.
“I think we’ve been incrementally making those steps and a few adjustments. It was a nice performance scrum-wise against Toulon, who are a good pack.”
He wasn’t happy on a personal level with what he described as a “slow” start to the season following on from an injury-ravaged time in the previous campaign but, in the current block of matches, the quality of his output is more representative of his talent.
Loughman doesn’t go all coy when discussing the current Irish propping woes.
“I think it would be silly not to think about that. I still aspire to get back in to camp and play with Ireland, so I wouldn’t shy away from that.
“I believe if I can put my best foot forward here, nail down the starting position, show that through my performances, then the rest hopefully will take care of itself. I would think about it, but not too much. I’m more focused on the here and now.”
That’s the aspirational part but, in a practical sense, what does he need to improve on?
“To keep pushing the set-piece stuff. I feel like it is the strength of my game, and then probably just add that dynamism in attack, so I become a bit more of a ball-carrying threat.
“I feel like I have good skills for prop and stuff, but when it comes to – especially the way defences are nowadays, and those kind of tighter exchanges against bigger teams – being able to add that ball-carrying and give myself more of an option [is important].
“Some days you just have those games where the ball always seems in your hand, but especially for me as a tight five forward, I take a lot of pride in having a very good game without touching the ball. It’s the kind of unfancy stuff that you don’t see. Maybe you get picked up in here in a video review for getting your breakdown work right and stuff like that.
“So [it’s about] taking a bit of pride in that. Not every game is going to be me carrying the ball a lot, but I can add to the game in terms of my off-the-ball work, getting around the pitch, hitting breakdowns, getting clear-outs defensively, stuff like that.”
His memories of being involved in the Grand Slam campaign also foster a desire to revisit that status. “To see the lads do that and to be involved in it, it’s unbelievable for your self-confidence that you’re able to mix it with them.
“I only played one game, so you still have that absolute hunger to get back in and be a regular. Once you’ve been in there, you realise how great the environment and culture. You just want to [get] back. It’s so enjoyable. When you come out, you always see the advantage of being in there.”
The next stage in the audition process is on Saturday when Munster take on Castres at Thomond Park.
